I was on the search for some image footage of space shuttle Discovery at the launch pad (now with the payload integrated). In one of the NASA webcams I came across this nice picture. It shows the crawler transporter heading back from the pad. As the webcams are usually live, it looks like the crawler has parked at the pad.
finally: new news ;)
Finally, NASA has released some news item. On the space shuttle home page, they state:
On Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the payload for mission STS-120 has been installed in space station Discovery’s cargo bay. The payload includes the Italian-built U.S. Harmony module, which will be delivered to the International Space Station during the mission. The module will serve as the future connecting point between the U.S. Destiny lab, the European Space Agency’s Columbus module and the Japanese Kibo module.
Hearing that is a relief for me. Since Sunday, there was no real news available. Of course, some forums had this and that note, but nothing official at all from the progress at Kennedy Space Center. Now, we know things look good.
Please note that there is not a single word about a schedule slip, so we seem to be still on time.
travel preparations
Not only NASA needs to prepare for the space shuttle flight. I, too need to prepare for my journey. Of course, it’s much shorter than Discovery’s, but I’d still like to have all things with me and not go back if I forget something.
Today is a rainy day over here – and also a public holiday. So what day could be better to begin travel preparations? This time, I need to bring quite a lot of technology with me. For example, some of the hotels I have booked have only wired LAN access available (for example the Residence Inn in Orlando). I remember the last time I stayed there, I was tied to the sofa because the Internet cable was only a foot or so long. This time, I’ll bring a nice wireless access point with me – that’ll do the job.
Well … I’ll begin to gather my things now and I’ll see what all I come up with.
space shuttle
complex scheduling…
Spaceflight is complex. Scheduling is complex. I knew that. But it is even more complex than I thought. I am very happy with the apparent good processing flow on shuttle Discovery. But guess what — I looked at far too few places.
Not only space shuttle processing flow is a constraint. The IIS (International Space Station) must also be ready for the shuttle visit. And I nearly missed an important event: there is a crew swap scheduled a few days before Discovery launches. With a Russian rocket, the new expedition 16 crew will ride to the skies. If that launch is delayed, we’ll probably end up with space traffic jam. And, guess what, that would of course affect Discovery’s launch date.
So let’s cross our fingers and hope for the best. Thankfully, the Russian rockets have an excellent track record…
no news is good news…
There are currently very few new news from Discovery’s launch pad processing. As far as I know, everything is quite on schedule with only some minor glitches. But I have to admit I was on the road yesterday and could not check as thorough as usual. I’ll try to dig out more today and then update the blog.
Discovery arrived at launch pad
Space Shuttle Discovery rolls out to the pad
… Discovery begins rollout at 7am EDT.
This is a major step in space shuttle processing. Discovery has been mated to the tank and external rocket boosters inside the Vehicle Assembly Building, or VAB for short. Now it is time to go the launch pad, where further work will be conducted. Most importantly, the payload will be integrated. Ffor STS-120, this is the International Space Station’s (ISS) Harmony module.
The rollout is performed by a gigantic “crawler” which moves the Space Shuttle stack (tank, boosters, orbiter) at a very slow speed to the pad. It is a 3 mile journey and takes around six hours.
The move can not be done if there is bad weather predicted. This is the reason why the rollout had been delayed for some hours. However, the rollout was move ahead of schedule, the current rollout is even a bit before the actual schedule. So far, the target launch date of October, 23rd is still very possible. There is even a day of contingency (spare time) left in the “processing flow” (aka “launch preparations” or “getting it ready” in less technical terms;)).
I will update my blog with additional pictures during the rollout. I also plan to create a short animation of the rollout once it is over (depending on my ability to capture enough images).
Picture Sources: NASA TV, NASA Webcams
weather still bad…
rollout to pad postponed
Discovery’s rollout to the pad seems to be postponed. I just read on a a news source that thunderstorms have caused some delay, so that the rollout will now happen on Sunday, 6am. I wonder if some of the work scheduled at the pad will now be done in the VAB…
Source: http://www.raumfahrer.net/forum/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1173608035/537#537
Payload Canister delivered to Launch Pad…
Yesterday, the Payload canister has been delivered to the launch pad. What can be seen is the “protective cover” of the canister. It is now being stored at the pad. After Discovery has been moved over to the pad (starting on Saturday evening), the payload will be integrated into it (at least this is what I think will happen – remember, I am still learning…).
I’ve also heard that the weather forecast looks good for the rollout. Processing flow in the VAB still seems to be great, so the rollout as scheduled is very likely. However, this seems not to bring in extra contingency, as some work usually done in the VAB seems to have moved over to the pad. The reason was weather, where the favorable weather on Saturday shall be used. In any case, the NASA guys are doing an excellent job.
So far, everything still looks like an October, 23rd launch is still quite probable.